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Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Difference between revisions
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* [[Slayers|Lina Inverse]] takes on this role. In the comedic parts of the series she has accidentally released a dragon onto a village and refused to help the village until paid for her services as well as rescue a captive from pirates...then sell her (a fishwoman) to a chef for money.
* Thorkell The Tall from ''[[Vinland Saga]]''. Imagine a good-natured and enthusiastic [[Adult Child]] who literally bubbles with ''joie de vivre'' and throws himself into life with single-minded glee and delight. Good. Now, imagine him as [[Boisterous Bruiser|an eight foot tall viking]], [[Dual-Wielding]] [[An Axe to Grind|axes]], who [[Blood Knight|lives for fighting people]] and ''really'' isn't particular about who he picks a fight with as long as they've got the promise of a good fight in them. You have Thorkell. Other people in the series comments on how easily likeable he is for a man prone to [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]], pillaging, scaring the water out of people merely by getting psyched, and who casually smashes the skull of one of his own subordinates for mocking a [[Worthy Opponent]] of his. It should be noted he started out as a [[Psycho for Hire]], only to join the main characters when he realized the [[Big Bad]] would be funnier to fight.
* Okita Sougo from [[Gintama]]. He's a sadist and is proud to be one. Yet, he is one of the good guys and indulges in [[Pet the Dog]] occasionally. [[Genre Savvy|Lampshaded by the man himself]] that the benefit of being a heroic sociopath is that he can avoid [[Heel Face Door Slam]] when he feels like being nice.
* Hamel from [[Violinist of Hameln]] is a pretty stunning example. From the very first pages, we see him playing a violin to call some birds nearby...and kill them by brutally bashing them with his huge violin. It just gets better from there. He always charge extorbitant amounts for his monster-fighting services (turning an entire small town into his personal playground/harem to settle their debt at one point), has no qualms selling his prospective love interest into slavery or abusing her and his other friends in hilarious ways to make money, and you don't want to know about how he [[Cool and Unusual Punishment|treats his enemies...]] He gets kinder after a certain plot development, but gets subverted almost immediately when he's shown making steaks out of a smiling cow he just rode on happily...
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** In fact, Sam and Max are such impossible a**holes that they once dreamed that they died and went to Heaven, but got kicked out for being too rowdy. That's right: even ''Jesus'' can't stand Sam and Max!
* [[Comedic Sociopath|Rasputin]] in the ''[[Corto Maltese]]'' series has no qualms killing, and is generally considered as stable as a landmine while [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|far from that dangerous]].
* The Space Marine from the ''[[Doom (Comic Book)|Doom]] comic''. He may be batshit insane and enjoying his job way too much, but he ''is'' fighting demons from hell and is a human space marine. The intentional [[Played for Laughs]] aspect is debatable, in that nobody is entirely sure if the comic was [[Stealth Parody|meant to be serious or not]], but he's definitively 'funny' either way.
* The Blazing Skull of the New Invaders used to be a pacifist. He doesn't exactly remember what that means, but anything with the word 'fist' in it can't be all bad.
* [http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/meatlocker/milkmandan.html Milkman Dan] from Max Cannon's ''[[Red Meat]]'', author-proclaimed "Booze-fueled paragon of pointless cruelty and wanton sadism". Especially noticeable in his repeated pestering of [[Bratty Half-Pint]] Karen.
* Sebastion O. from the comics of same name is a complete [[The Dandy|dandy]] and more interested in filling the void of a dull life (and getting revenge on the people who put him in Bedlam) than any form of kindness. Also one of his best friends is a pederast.
* Princess Lucinda, of her own comic and the second volume of ''[[Witch Girls Tales]]'', on those occasions when she's not being played as an outright [[Villain Protagonist]]. Yes, she actually ''is'' being played for laughs, despite what some might tell you -- the ''Witch Girls'' franchise has tended toward [[Black Comedy]].
* Hit Girl of ''[[Kick-Ass]]''.
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*** Carrying around a signed photo of the wife of the [[Inspector Javert]] in lingerie, which he finds [[Extended Disarming|during a frisking session]].
*** Acting ''extremely'' sleazy ([[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|and stereotypically French to an insulting degree]]) towards Stanley's [[Love Interest]].
* Lancelot from ''[[Monty Python and
** Afterwards, he sincerely apologizes for the misunderstanding.
* Frank D'Arbo, the protagonist of ''[[Super]]'', has a case of hyper-morality after being told by [[God]] himself to bring justice to the streets of his neighborhood. Inspired by comics, he assumes the superhero alter ego Crimson Bolt and [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|uses a wrench]] to smash the faces of not only criminals, but ''people who push in queues'', all [[For Great Justice]]. His sidekick, the self-named [[Psycho Supporter|Boltie]], is another, even more extreme version of this.
* Although the description of the trope refers to wicked characters, Tom Cruise's protagonist Roy Milner in ''[[Knight and Day]]'' still comes across this way despite having elements of [[The Cape (trope)]]. He racks up a massive amount of property damage over the course of the film and a body count to match while maintaining a totally nonchalant attitude as a humorous contract. At one point, the villains try to persuade the heroine that Roy is actually a psychopathic pathological liar, and that is a surprisingly believable explanation. The effect is helped by [[Meta Casting]] / [[Reality Subtext]] which thinks of Cruise as mentally unstable. For a representative exchange:
{{quote|'''June''': The pilots are dead?
'''Miller''': Shot.
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== Literature ==
* Yulia Latynina's sci-fi political thriller ''Insider'' gives us Kissur The White Falcon, imperial favourite, former prime minister, supreme tactician and feudal overlord of the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Aloms]]. He is also a reckless madman that spends most of the book either committing or threatening to commit acts of over the top violence. In the first chapter, for instance, he drives around recklessly at night, slams his car into the first other car he finds and mugs the recently arrived protagonist. ''Twice''. Just for fun. He befriends the protagonist out of respect for him actually fighting back on the next day. It gets better and better through the novel. In the words of another character, "If [Kissur] sees a house that is on fire, he'll rush inside to save the baby; if he sees a house that ''isn't'' on fire, he'll set fire to it."
* Viruk from David Gemmell's ''Echoes of the Great Song''. Viruk takes great pleasure from fighting and killing his enemies. He believes that the Source (God) talks to him and orders him to kill people. He is described as being very changeable as a person; he kills an entire convoy of raiders and their caravan drivers and finally decides to let one live. Later on in the book he kills a king and is about to kill the man's bodyguards when he sees some flowers nearby and becomes distracted. Near the end of the book, when all of the remaining Avatars go on a death charge against their enemies, everyone is grim and determined; however, when it switches to Viruk's point of view, it shows that he is in ecstasy and truly enjoying the brutal fighting.
** He later goes down in legend as the god of war and spring/nature.
* [[wikipedia:Max and Moritz|Max and Moritz]], the two no-good urchin tricksters in [[Wilhelm Busch]]'s children's novel. They finally {{spoiler|are ground alive into flour and the miller's geese eat them.}}
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* [[The Acts of Caine|Caine of Garthan Hold]] skirts the line of this. Well, maybe dances on it. Okay, he does a full soft-shoe number up and down with Broadway routines and a full stage orchestra in the background.
* Meursault in ''[[The Stranger]]'', if you go for the [[Alternate Character Interpretation]].
* [[The Jeeves|Jeeves]] of ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' constantly throws people--''especially'' his employer--under the bus in order to further his [[Zany Scheme|Zany Schemes]]. Since most of the said schemes ultimately benefit the people involved, he gets away with it.
== Live Action TV ==
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* ''[[iCarly]]'': Sam, pretty much anytime an incident goes from a regular run of the mill incident to something that threatens Carly.
* [[Almighty Janitor|The Janitor]] from ''[[Scrubs]]'' approaches this on occasion.
* Nathan from ''[[Misfits]]'' certainly borders on this. Other characters do occasionally suggest that he probably has some kind of mental illness (usually when they're trying to explain his bizarre behavior to baffled and offended strangers) but it's still played exclusively for laughs.
* Stuart Jones, one of the two leads in the UK version of ''[[Queer as Folk]]''. He's much more of a bastard than a hero really, but every now and then he does something so outrageous and awesome you can't completely hate him.
* The eponymous Sherlock Holmes of the BBC's ''[[Sherlock]]'', despite solving crimes and catching murderers, is actually more interested in the intellectual challenge that his cases present than helping anyone. And while Sherlock's [[The Sociopath|manipulative, callous nature]] turns out to be [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|something of a front]], it's still played for laughs in nearly every episode.
{{quote|'''Molly Hooper:''' I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee?
'''Sherlock:''' Black, two sugars please. I’ll be upstairs.
''[Sherlock leaves the room]''
'''Molly Hooper:''' ...Okay. }}
* On "[[Leverage]]" [[Classy Cat Burglar|Parker]] is this, stealing from random people out of boredom and without really concern over their possessions. She does start to become more caring as the series goes on however.
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*** And despite all this, if you get him on your side, he's a genuinely good support character, doing everything he does out of loyalty to his friends and country.
* The character of the ''[[Rance]]'' series would probably be a complete monster in any other series with his casual rape and murder... but whenever the rape starts, it's a bit hard to take very seriously considering [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GauhWG340dI&feature=related the music that is playing.] And that's just for starters.
* [[Cute Witch|Marisa Kirisame]] from ''[[Touhou]]''.
* Shantotto of ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' is a good-aligned character, but she has no qualms blasting random poor adventurers with her magic if they irritate her, and she'll deliver her trademark [[Noblewoman's Laugh]] after. Carries into her appearance in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' where she's far more bloodthirsty than the other characters, but she's just so ''funny'' about it.
* Gig from ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' is a gleefully [[Omnicidal Maniac|Omnicidal]] ex-[[Psychopomp]], responsible for why the game world is set [[After the End]], who spends the game [[Demonic Possession|possessing your character]]. Because Gig has little direct control over your actions, he spends most of the game insulting, tricking and annoying the rest of the party and everyone else you interact with, snarking at your character's motivations and personal history, and repeatedly trying to tempt you to do evil and accept more of his power so he can gain more control of your body. The main character is forced to go along with his because a) he/she can't get rid of Gig as their souls are fused together, and b) Gig is the only being in the world powerful enough to defeat the World Eaters, and letting him possess you grants you access to some of his powers.
* Riki from ''[[Bangai-O]]'' seems to qualify, to an extent. While he has the noble goal of using the titular mech to defeat the Cosmo Gang, he doesn't hesitate to blast anyone that stands in his way ([[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|no matter how sympathetic they are]]).
* Sergeant Viktor Reznov in the Russian/Soviet campaign of ''[[Call of Duty]]: World at War'' seems to enjoy killing Germans a little too much. He even twice encouraged the [[Player Character]] to kill helpless German soldiers (first was when they surrendered, second was when they lay dying).
* Princess Sapphire from ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'' is one part this and one part [[Cloudcuckoolander]]. She's liable to flip out and kill anything she perceives as a 'threat', only to come to her senses the next moment and apologize profusely to the very dead and broken body of her would-be opponent. Her solution to practically ever problem the party comes across [[Murder Is the Best Solution|is one form or another of 'murder']], including the suggestion to [[Character Development|'open Mao's heart']]... With a [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw]]. Unlike most examples she usually *means* well, though. For a certain definition of 'well'.
* The ''[[Saints Row]]'' protagonist is somewhat a bit heroic (but still on the looser side of sanity) in the first, considerably even more insane in the sequel, and gets a healthy boost in both categories in the third entry of the series. Pretty much anyone who's in the Saints also counts.
* Though most [[Grand Theft Auto|GTA]] protagonists fit the bill for this, Luis Lopez of ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' openly admits to being this. The only people he shows any attachment to are his mother, who he doesn't even particularly like while she frequently shows contempt towards him; his friends, with whom he has probably the healthiest relationship; and his benefactor Tony, who is a father figure to him, but who also uses Luis specifically because the only qualms he has about doing anything are purely practical ones. When asked by Brucie about him having a softer side, Luis replies with a flat "Not really, I like killing people for money."
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** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbazH6aE2g Hell, they even made him a musical.]
* Bun-bun, the lop-eared switch-blade-wielding rabbit of ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. His plans usually fall through, often due to Kiki's screwups, but he almost never suffers any consequences... usually because no-one's brave enough to try punishing him.
** He does still kill a lot of people, even innocent people, especially in the early years. Though it's debatable that [[Acceptable Targets|telemarketers]] are "innocent".
* ''[[Walkyverse]]'' Abductee Mike Warner, who especially enjoys Halloween: in different years, he's tried to sacrifice Joyce's dog in a Black Mass, dressed up as Saddam Hussein (and putting a fake beard on the same dog he tried kill, calling him 'Osama bin Doggie'), dressed again as the recently deceased head of the [[Government Conspiracy]] they worked for, and given out candy with razor blades in it. And that's what he does for fun; he's even worse the rest of the year. He crosses the line so many times that it has become blurred beyond all recognition.
* Fuzzy from ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]''. A borderline heroic sociopath who lapses between true sociopathy and [[The Imp]] depending on the seriousness of the story arc (the less important the strip is, the more he gets away with).
** Recently it's come to light that Fuzzy merely took someone's advice about acting in a certain way. Couple this with his apparent {{spoiler|amnesia}} and there's no telling what behaviors of his are genuine, and what aren't, as even Sam himself has noted.
* In the [[Ciem Webcomic Series]], Dolly Malestrom was all set to become one of these. The Earwig helmet brought out her more sociopathic tendencies, allowing her to [[Flanderization|go from]] just [[Badass]] in general to flat-out [[Ax Crazy]].
* The title character of ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]''. At their worst several other members of Tagon's Toughs would qualify as well, but Schlock is responsible for the lion's share.
** Schlock has been known to refer to his "random act of violence fix for the day".
** And then there's [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20070629.html Lieutenant Piebald], for whom sociopathy would be the least of his conditions.
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** Calvin (a.k.a. "Freckle") is probably this trop in training. A quiet, shy fella, he undergoes a complete and psychotic personality change any time he gets his paws on a gun. The end result can involve a lot of bodies (and horror on his part, once he comes back to himself). The story as it stands seems to suggest that he will put this particular "talent" to use, and then his "training" will probably be complete as far as this trope goes.
* Drew from ''[[Mac Hall]]'', a foul-mouthed, utterly cynical Comp Sci major who [http://www.machall.com/view.php?date=2002-07-19 loves tormenting freshmen] and is grandmaster of humorous [[Disproportionate Retribution]]. [http://machall.com/view.php?date=2001-11-29 Like so].
* The light warriors from ''[[8-Bit Theater
** As Fighter himself once [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/05/10/episode-551-so-close-and-yet-so-far/ said]...
{{quote|'''Fighter:''' Oh, we usually murder our way to the top and claim victory whilst astride a pile of mangled bodies.
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* Doctor Hubris from [http://www.theappleofdiscord.com The Apple of Discord] (and later [http://www.drunkduck.com/Apple_Valley Apple Valley]) is usually responsible for whatever horrible things are going on in the comic, including {{spoiler|inventing the technology that created Gayzilla}} and creating a highly contagious form of "robot cancer". It's been implied several times that he hired Doyle just to kill him, and that the superheroes of Apple Valley classify him as a supervillain. It's even been implied that {{spoiler|he is the one who actually broke the barrier separating reality, not Arthur}} which has been more-or-less confirmed by [[Word of God]].
* In ''[[Scandinavia and The World]]'', Finland. Drunken, mute, ax-wielding, sniggers-at-your-misfortune Finland. Only Sister Sweden gets the better of him for long.
* In ''[[Noblesse]]'' we have {{spoiler|Franken}}, who sounds like a mostly [[Nice Guy]] (albeit with [[Neat Freak|a little obssession with cleanness]]) but he's actually THE BIGGEST [[Mad Scientist]] in the series who can pull out very scary [[Slasher Smile]] and impale people with brutal ease and the worst of all, ''enjoys'' it.
* ''[[Ansem Retort]]'': insofar as the protagonists can be called heroes, about half of them qualify. Axel kills people constantly for no reason, and if he's looking at you you'd better ''hope'' it's no reason, 'cause he gets ''brutal'' when he has actual motive beyond 'likes killing things'. Zexion takes pride in his [[Jerkass]] credentials and commits crimes just to prove he can. Red XIII views the whole of humanity as food. And as for Larxene...well, we're not sure what Larxene's deal is apart from huge quantities of drugs and [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]], but she does seem a little too fond of killing things.
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* Mr. Popo from ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged]]''. He is able to control an ancient Namekian starship just by saying his name to it -- not because of any programming, but because ''it knows better''.
* Near the end of V3 of ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', Dominica Shapiro [[Heel Realization|realizes that she has become this]] {{spoiler|just before she throws herself at the terrorists guns a-blazing in a bid to keep the escaping students safe, and to have some fun in the meanwhile.}}
* The "anti-walkthroughs" featured on [[IT-HE Software|it-he.org]] make the protagonists of the ''[[Ultima]]'' series, ''[[Thief]]'', ''[[Deus Ex]]'' and ''[[Elder Scrolls]]'' into these, partially for sake of [[Sequence Breaking]] and partially for the pure fun of [[Video Game Cruelty Potential]].
* Glorion from [[Journey Quest]]. Just imagine the page image with Belkar replaced by a [[Glory Seeker|glory seeking]] knight. "You killed every single orc to cross our path, and some that were nowhere near our path".
* [[Half Life|Gordon Freeman]], once you [[Freeman's Mind|listen to his thoughts]] during the whole Black Mesa Incident.
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*** Even better is that while Cartman triggers the hunt due to his suspicion of Muslims, the actual terrorist was actually a Russian communist.
* Stewie from ''[[Family Guy]]'' is a fan favorite whose antics are over the top mostly for comedic effect and he has little intent to kill or harm his family save for Lois. Yet it is made clear at varying times he does not always think much of Peter, Chris, or Meg either.
** It should be noted that Stewie routinely murders people on and off-screen.
{{quote|'''Brian''': How would you feel if you killed another baby?
'''Stewie''' (offhandedly); I've killed seven... }}
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* Mandy and Grim, ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]''. The show sometimes subverted it by having Mandy do everything right, but fail because of [[Surrounded by Idiots|the idiots around her]], or bad luck. For a little girl, though, her achievements are quite impressive.
** She did once erase every living thing from existence except herself but, probably because the [[Crapsack World]] the show is set in is so surreal, it didn't last.
* A possible case in the Warden from ''[[Superjail]]''. While dedicated to his job and perfecting the art of incarceration, he is AT LEAST a psychopathic sadist the show isn't afraid to play for laughs. Most of the people he ends up killing - generally indirectly - are dangerous inmates who pose a clear threat to society.
* Brock Samson from ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' is a scientist's bodyguard whose main priority (at least in the beginning) is to brutally murder his enemies while having sex with as many women as possible. His college football career (and scholarship) ended when he accidentally killed another player, so he joined the army. He wound up as a government agent with his own license to kill, which he's been known to take advantage of if a bartender makes fun of his mullet.
** Also Rusty, from the same show. While not as bloodthirsty as Brock, he isn't above screwing over friends, family, or innocent bystanders just to gain the most minor of conveniences. Not to mention his Joy Can, a virtual reality simulator ''[[Powered by a Forsaken Child|powered by an orphan's heart]]''!
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* Heloise from ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' is this. She works for Misery Inc. as [[Mad Scientist|top inventor]] to make hazardous products and she also like to [[Enfante Terrible|destroy things for fun]]. However, she likes to hangs out with [[Morality Pet|Jimmy due to her crush on him]].
* Possibly Rico from ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]].'' He's described at least once in universe as a "world-class psychopath," and he especially likes blowing stuff up and causing other characters bodily harm. That said, is there anybody out there who doesn't absolutely love Rico? I doubt it.
** Skipper too. In less then five minutes he's admitted his dream future involves a post apocalyptic scenario with roving bands of irradiated mutants and then proceeds to help stop a time paradox from erasing existence.
* [[Gorillaz|Murdoc Niccals]], big time. His rap sheet includes fraud, kidnapping, extortion, [[Organ Theft]], tons and tons of assault and possibly homicide. Despite this, he's still technically a protagonist, and maintains a [[Kavorka Man|sizable fanbase]] as such.
* {{spoiler|Cesar Salazar}} of ''[[Generator Rex]]'' is a subversion of this. He is described as "kooky" and "kinda off" and appears for a while to just be a wacky inventor, but pretty normal otherwise. But as time goes on, he begins to display a marked lack of concern for people (including his own ''brother'') or ethics. It seems he has no moral code of his own, even.
* Lobo's incarnation in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' and ''[[Justice League]]'', in addition to being a [[Badbutt]], was a clear version of this once he underwent a [[Heel Face Turn]] (which didn't really change his personality any, just the people he was currently beating up). He's a sleazebag and a jerk to both heroes and villains and both gives and receives [[Amusing Injuries]] a lot, and gets a lot of funny lines.
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